President Donald Trump has downplayed the significance of the disclosure of information about the breach of U.S. security.
It comes after it emerged that President Trump's top national security officials, including his defense secretary, sent text messages outlining upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat on a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”
Mr Trump initially told reporters he was unaware the highly sensitive information had been leaked until more than two hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the leak.
According to editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, the material in the text thread “contained operational intelligence about upcoming strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, the weapons the U.S. would deploy, and the sequence of attacks.”
It is not clear whether the details of a military operation are classified, but they are often classified and at least kept secret to protect the troops and ensure the security of the operation.
The United States has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis since the militant group began attacking commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.
Just two hours after Mr. Goldberg received details of the March 15 attack, the United States began launching a series of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The National Security Council said in a statement that it was investigating how the journalist's number was added to a chain in a Signal group chat.
In addition to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the delegation included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence.
Mr. Goldberg said he received an invitation to Signal from Mike Waltz, Mr. Trump's national security adviser, who was also in the group chat.
In his initial comments on the matter, Mr. Hegseth called Mr. Goldberg a “lying” and “discredited so-called journalist,” citing previous critical reporting on Mr. Trump in the publication.
He did not clarify why Signal was used to discuss the covert operation or how Mr. Goldberg ended up in the message thread.
“Nobody sent text messages with war plans, and that’s all I can say about that,” Mr. Hegseth said in an exchange with reporters after landing in Hawaii on Monday, as he began his first trip to the Indo-Pacific region as defense secretary.
In a brief interview with NBC News' Garrett Haack on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called the incident “the only hiccup in two months” of his administration, “and it wasn't serious.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said in a post on X on Tuesday that no military plans were discussed and that no classified material was posted to the thread.
Ms. Leavitt said on Monday that the president still had “full confidence” in Mr. Waltz and the national security team. Mr. Trump told NBC News on Tuesday that Mr. Waltz “has learned his lesson and he’s a good man.”
Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump told reporters: “I don't know anything about this. This is the first time you've told me about this.” He added that The Atlantic was “not much of a magazine.”
Government officials have used Signal for organizational communications, but it is not classified and can be hacked. Privacy and technology experts say the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging and voice calling app is more secure than regular text messages.
Ms. Leavitt said the White House legal counsel had provided guidance to Mr. Trump's senior officials on a number of platforms to ensure communications were as safe and effective as possible.
The exchange of confidential information comes as Mr. Hegseth's office just announced measures to combat leaks of sensitive information, including the possible use of polygraph tests on Defense Department employees to determine how journalists obtained information.
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Mr. Hegseth, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the defense secretary had published military operational plans in an unclassified annex.
The administration's handling of the highly classified information was quickly condemned by Democratic politicians, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer calling for a full investigation.
“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence that I have read about in a very, very long time,” Mr. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a speech Monday afternoon.
“If this story is true, it represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.
He said American lives were “at stake. The recklessness shown by Mr. Trump's cabinet is staggering and dangerous. I will seek answers from the administration immediately.”
Some Republicans also expressed concern.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters: “We are very concerned about this and will look at this issue on a bipartisan basis.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
